In December 1997, 122 countries signed the Ottawa Treaty for the elimination of anti-personnel land mines.
By September 2000, the number rose to 138.
The treaty went into effect in March 1999, six months after the required minimum 40 countries ratified it in record time.
Signatories include Canada, Britain, Italy, Spain, Austria, Norway, Cambodia, Jordan, Guinea-Bissau, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, and the seven members of Portuguese-speaking States.
Some countries, including Tanzania and Zambia, signed but haven't ratified the treaty.
Signatories Angola, Cambodia, Senegal and Sudan haven't ratified it, and continue to lay mines.
Countries which have ratified the treaty include Namibia, France, Germany, Britain, Burkina Faso, and Thailand.
Kenya will ratify it in 2000.
By September 2000, 101 ratified the treaty.
A number refuse to sign.
Lebanon won't unless Israel does.
Israel refuses, citing defense reasons.
Ukraine can't afford the cost of required mine destruction.
The US cites the need to protect South Korea from possible North Korean invasion.
China and Russian refuse for defense reasons.
Other non-signatories include Yugoslavia, Albania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, most Middle East nations and many Asian nations.
In the treaty's first year, some 10 million stockpiled mines were destroyed, and trade and shipments were halted.
However, many countries still refuse to adopt the treaty.
It has no governing organization to oversee it and no way to punish violators.
Anti-personnel land mines continue to be used in conflicts, produced and stockpiled, often by countries which have signed the treaty.
